All civil servants will have to pledge allegiance to Hong Kong, Basic Law from as early as next month – and could face dismissal for refusing

Name: China’s Rebel City: The Hong Kong Protests
Uploaded: 2020-12-10T16:59:02.000Z
Duration: 7 min 30 s
Description: China’s Rebel City: The Hong Kong Protests

Civil service chief Patrick Nip met public sector employee groups to discuss oath-taking arrangements on Thursday, source says

Only permanent secretaries and department heads will need to take oath, while other ranks will be asked to sign declaration of loyalty

Reading Time:1 minute

Why you can trust SCMP

Danny MokandJeffie Lam

Published: 12:59am, 11 Dec 2020Updated: 2:16am, 11 Dec 2020

All 180,000 civil servants in Hong Kong will have to pledge allegiance to the city and its mini-constitution from as early as January, with the whole process expected to be completed within a month and those who refuse facing dismissal, the Post has learned.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen met public sector employee groups to discuss oath-taking arrangements on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter said.

Only permanent secretaries and department heads will need to take the oath, while other ranks will be asked to sign a declaration of loyalty.

Those who refuse to sign could be asked to leave their posts.

07:30

China’s Rebel City: The Hong Kong Protests

Nip had warned civil servants late last month that they could jeopardise their chances of promotion if they refuse to pledge allegiance to Hong Kong and the Basic Law, the mini-constitution.